Eldritch Horror Theatre

As his facial features shifted, Fu Qian’s body contorted and rapidly shrank, completely transforming into a withered old man.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...

This time, Ariel stood frozen in place for even longer.

”So that’s how it is!”

After a long while, Ariel studied the bloodstained claws on Fu Qian’s right hand, offering a meaningful smile.

”To think the Rebirth Club actually joined forces with the Night Watchers.”

”It seems my face is quite recognizable.”

Fu Qian gave a cryptic, cold sneer.

”As long as there’s a common goal, anyone can join forces.”

He took a deep breath as he spoke, the wounds on his body slowly healing.”Truly astonishing!”

Ariel appeared completely unbothered.

”To advance to the Demigod Realm relying solely on limb grafting and fusion... It seems you not only faked your death and escaped during the last incident, but even reaped some benefits.”

”Now, can you explain what your actions just now were all about?”

”You could have skipped the preamble; I would have answered a direct question.”

Fu Qian raised a finger to point at Yuan Shan.

”It’s simple. I was just stopping her from doing something pointless.”

”She said herself that the two of us pose no threat to you, yet she still rushed in.”

”Then your strike seemed a bit too heavy.”

”It was indeed a bit heavy, heh heh heh!”

Fu Qian let out a string of meaningful laughter.

”Mainly, I wanted to see your reaction.”

Without waiting for a response, Fu Qian stared at the somewhat sluggish Ariel.

”As it turns out, the new breed cultivated by the Origin Council is truly interesting!”

”I thought I had already gained a lot lately. Coming to Shangjing this time has really been one pleasant surprise after another.”

”I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

Ariel’s expression turned completely cold.

”To think even you aren’t sincere. As expected, is Lie truly Eternity?!”

[SAN Value -1]

Fu Qian sighed while silently activating Mythical Form + Commandment Residue.

The next moment, a resplendent golden radiance surged from the ground, scattering the night’s darkness once more.

Yuan Shan, who had just shown signs of waking up, planted face-first into the ground again.

”I know far more than you imagine. And please believe me, if I want to leave, you absolutely cannot keep me here.”

Admiring the daze reappearing on Ariel’s face, Fu Qian shook his head.

”Perhaps I shouldn’t use the concept of ’you’? After all, you’re merely a cluster of intuitive rules coupled together right now.”

That was it. He had finally figured out the thing that had always struck him as strange.

Why did Ariel have no emotional noise?

Why did his mind seem entirely unaffected after the Descent of a True God?

Just now, in response to these unbelievable displays, Fu Qian had thought of a possibility—this guy simply didn’t possess a mind at all.

He wasn’t a person in the spiritual sense; instead, he was more like a ”Chinese room.”

He collected external information, processed it through rules, and fed back answers. He could even feign emotions to make himself appear almost like a living, breathing human.

But he himself wasn’t a person. Perhaps he used to be, but at the very least, he wasn’t anymore.

Simply put, Ariel was a Classmate Xiao Ai so intelligent you couldn’t tell the difference between him and a human.

He had no concept of self. He didn’t even need to understand his own feedback. Therefore, he didn’t fear the cognitive distortion brought about by a Descent in the slightest, because he completely lacked a mind to distort.

This was also why his emotions had no noise. To make his feedback more reasonable and credible, his emotions were displayed entirely according to necessity.

But there was a flaw here.

Because his emotions were ”calculated,” he was different from most people, whose emotions preceded their reason.

When facing a sudden, complex situation, his emotions would exhibit a delay.

In other words, before calculating the reaction he ought to have according to his rules, he wouldn’t show any unconscious emotional expression.

This was the reason for that indescribable awkwardness Fu Qian had felt before.

It was also why he had made his earlier move.

It proved that after witnessing consecutive complex and incomprehensible actions, Ariel only displayed subsequent emotions like surprise and confusion after a brief period of sluggishness.

This was absolutely not how a normal person would act.

”I feel you shouldn’t be called a Divine Emissary; the concept of a holy fool is actually much more fitting.”

Facing the silent Ariel, Fu Qian’s gaze was like he was looking at an object; his focus seemed fixed on some infinite distance.

”Your emotions only exist because you need to display them.”

”I don’t know how your creators managed it. Did they carve out a piece of your brain? It’s highly unlikely to be that simple.”

Fu Qian shook his head as he spoke.

”I know quite a bit about your affairs, but I have to say, this approach is still a real eye-opener.”

”Stripping away the complex for the simple, discarding the useless burden of self-awareness, and relying entirely on the biological instinct of ascension to touch divinity... What an interesting idea!”

”The results are also surprisingly good. To think they directly created a Divine Emissary.”

”Deng Feizhou.”

Ariel didn’t answer Fu Qian’s previous question. Instead, he spat out a name.

”Actually, I haven’t chatted with him all that much. The above speculations are entirely my own deductions.”

Fu Qian’s tone was incredibly flat.

”However, from my contact with him, I did indeed deduce a few things, and I made a deal with the Night Watchers while I was at it.”

”But you just killed your trading partner.”

”She said herself that she was bound to die, so I figured I might as well make use of her residual value.”

Fu Qian glanced at Yuan Shan, his face showing complete indifference.

”There is one thing Deng Feizhou said that was quite right. Simple limb grafting will never be fit for the Hall of Great Elegance. I have to say, that inspired me.”

”And what you did to Chen Xing... truly a masterful technique.”

Fu Qian wore a look of admiration.

”I can tell you all have gained a lot over the years and have devoted yourselves to cooperating with families in various regions.”

”The Night Watchers know all this?”

”Of course. To verify it, we waited together for a long time. If you hadn’t shown up soon, they almost would have lost their trust in me.”

”Speaking of which, I have to thank you for what you did to that Xiao Mingyue. It was only because of that they were finally convinced by me.”

Fu Qian let out a hoarse laugh.

”But it’s limited to that. Don’t worry, as long as you answer one question for me, they won’t learn your secrets—can you tell me, what state were you originally in before they turned you into this?”

Fu Qian asked the question he was most interested in.

Unfortunately, Ariel had no reaction whatsoever. He simply transformed into a streak of flowing light and sped away into the distance.

”The Dao of Sitting in Oblivion, so free and detached!”

Amid the ruins, Fu Qian stood with his hands clasped behind his back, letting out a heartfelt sigh of admiration.